Danger Awaits
Getting down is never as easy as getting up. It took two round way trips for Mai to get Yasuhara and Monk down from the rafters where she had put them. This was after she had gotten herself down and then realized that they didn't have wings like her and couldn't just jump down without killing themselves.
Naru shook his head as Mai set Yasuhara down on the ground tired from having to make the two trips and carrying them down. The adrenaline now gone it turned out while she was strong carrying the two down at once was impossible; she wasn't entirely sure how she had gotten them up there in the first place.
"Mai no more getting people up in high places if you can't get them down afterwards."He comments inspecting the damage done by the flying benches that now lay scattered on the ground and ice. Mai barely manged a growl from where she was bent over panting. "Remind me to kill him later when I have more energy."She remarks to someone he wasn't sure who she was talking to as he ignored her picking through the wreckage.
He moved a bench aside and picked up a ice skate that lay among the overturned damaged benches. At first he figured it had come from the skate rental window on the far side of the rink but upon closer examination it proved to have Mai's name printed on the blade. "You said you were sitting down on a bench when things first started?"
"Yeah I was taking off my skates and they all of a sudden went flying and then the bench I was sitting on started to jump around. It knocked me to the ground and then more benches started to do the same thing." Mai says recounting what had just happened. "The skates went flying after you threw one first." Yasuhara comments helpfully.
This caught Naru's attention. "Why did you throw your skate? You don't have the money to buy a new pair if you damage them by throwing them around, so you obviously wouldn't do something like that without good reason." Mai flushed looking down. "I kind of lost my temper and threw it without thinking."
Again a thought popped into his head but stayed just out of reach. He knew it was important and he knew it was related to Mai but he couldn't figure out what exactly it was. "You really shouldn't throw something just because you lost your temper. It's very unladylike like." Masako informs Mai much to her displeasure
"This security system mentioned, would it have gone off if a spell had been used?" Naru asks kicking aside some rubble that came up from the floor when some of the benches that had been bolted to the floor had been pulled up to go flying around in the air. He picked up Mai's other skate before turning to her as she answered him.
"Yes at least I think so. A spell of this magnitude, and it would have to be a pretty strong one to do all this, would have set off the alarm unless programmed in before hand. That's why all classes are planned out before hand so the spells can be programmed in." She says giving him a grateful smile that made is heart skip when he handed her her skates back. "There isn't anyway the system isn't working?"Lin asks even as Mai shook her head.
"It works similar to a computer program it's linked directly to a central control room and only certain teachers have access to it. It's actually a mix of a actual computerized alarm system and a spell. The spell is laid into the system through code and works to detect any magic being used to cause harm or any large scale magic and then works to shut it down or alert the teachers." She explains then shrugging when everyone stared at her.
"What? We had to do a project on magic in technology I choose the security system and bribed the student intern of the week into letting me into the room and giving me the details." "Mai I'm pretty sure that should be against school rules to do that." Ayako says with a sigh her head in her hand. "It's not in the student handbook I checked." She says with a satisfied smile. Ayako stared at her harder before giving up with a sigh. "You really shouldn't do something like that. "I got an A on my paper" Mai offers with a grin
"Back to the subject at hand. Monk did you sense anything at all when this was happening?" Naru asks turning his attention to him. Monk shook his head. "Nothing and anything I did seemed to have no affect if it is a spirit it's a very powerful one." Naru turned to Masako next. "Do you sense anything right now?"
She paused for a moment before answering him. "There are a few spirits here but only one in this actual building and she is simply curious as to what happened she isn't strong enough to do anything like this." She says softly looking towards the announcers booth where a shadow of a person could be seen inside.
"You'll find several former students here still. I asked about that when I first transferred here. A lot of them are very aware too, some even go to class still. There is one in my class who died back in 1979." Mai pipes up. "Okay it's official your school is weird." Monk says giving her a weirded out glance.
"It could be a student or someone behind this still somehow or it could be a spirit we need to dig deeper." Naru says looking up at the jumbotron that hung above the rink. "I want to ask if it's possible to get a camera up there so we can get a view of the whole arena in case this happens here again." "I think there is a camera in there already at least during hockey games they pull up images of the whole audience on it." Mai offers.
"Lin ask if we can have access to that then." Naru says turning to pick his way out of the building. He wanted to get a closer look at each area that a incident took place he suspected there was a connection somewhere or a clue. He also wanted a better look at exactly what took place. And now was the perfect time to do so with everyone about to go back to class.
The library was his first stop explaining to the librarian on duty that he wasn't a student when asked to show his pass showing them the letter from the head people before he was allowed to go further. Looking like a high school student still had its downsides when working in a school. And apparently judging from the few students he saw the male school uniform consisted of a black jacket with white trim, black pants and a white shirt with a blue plaid tie and the school crest on the jacket.
His usual black jacket and pants were similar to the uniform enough that at first glance he could be mistaken for a student. Finding the elevator all the way in the back of the library he hit the button to go down noting that according to what plans their were there were two upper levels and numerous lower ones not all of which were documented or that the elevator went down to.
The elevator was old and not in the best condition but it worked and although slow it go him to the floor he wanted eventually. Impatient by the time the doors opened he strode out hunting through the rows of massive shelves till he found the areas he wanted still roped off. "The basics of water magic, mermaids and nymphs and how to avoid their spells, sirens of the sea, Yuki-onna and other snow spirits of the world, Ice Magic and the dangers of using it."
Naru murmurs reading the title of some of the books until he found the exact area where snow and ice magic books were. He ran his hand along the bindings of some of them looking for a trace of Mai on them with his psychometry, pausing when he found her on the book about the dangers of ice magic along with several other books. He pulled those out and set them aside on a table before moving to the next area the one that housed fire magic books.
He repeated the process again reading some of titles, "Furies and how to avoid death by one, Dragons not so mythical after all, Drawing energy from a Volcano the do's and don'ts, Fire against Water opposite elements attract, The Balance of Nature Fire needs Water as Water needs Fire.", before he found the ones he was looking for that Mai had took out.
He didn't question some of the titles on the shelves despite some of the strange ones there were he had what he wanted and now he wanted to get to work. A careful scan gave him exactly which tables were involved in the incidents and which to avoid for now until he was ready. He choose to sit on the floor rather then at a table and made himself comfortable.
He organized the stacks of books into the two piles, snow and ice magic books and fire magic books. He picked out one book the one on the dangers of using ice magic and flipped through it quickly picking up some interesting things from it as he did like the fact that if a person was frozen in ice by magic they are still alive just in a completely frozen state they have no need to breath or no need for their heart to beat or anything they are quiet literally frozen. Left that way for too long though it seems they do eventually turn to ice completely.
Ice magic appeared to be controlled more by the heart then the head. Many ice magic users in history found it easier to control if they showed or displayed no emotion which was not something he could see Mai doing she could never stay quiet for very long. Finally finished flipping through the book and storing away some useful new information in his mind he got down to what he really was there to do.
He ran his hands over the book letting himself sink into the book using his psychometry. He focused his power on Mai skipping past any others who touched the book. There, she was rather easy to find and focus on since apparently she had been thinking about him while she held this book.
Mai stood in back of the shelve a piece of paper in her hand as she hunted for more titles that were on her list. She growled her frustration as she tried to reach a book just out of her reach. A quick flash and a cold wind surrounded her which she shakily directed to the book she wanted clutching the one she already held to her chest.
The wind carried the book down to her wobbling from the weight of it. She took it with a grin letting the wind wrap around her like a content cat before it vanished as quickly as it appeared. She wasn't actually thinking about the books or at least not completely part of her mind was thinking about the books she wanted another part was thinking about the wind and her new powers while another focused on how much her life had changed recently.
The main thing she thought about when she thought of how her life had changed was about Naru. She missed him surprisingly more then she thought she would. She still was holding out hope that once she had better control over her magic she would be allowed to go back to work. She really wanted to do that. She wanted to see everyone again. She wanted to see Naru again.
Her heart ached painfully at the thought of never being able to see him again. She had so much she wanted to do. She wanted to try and make him smile try and make him laugh. As she grabbed the last book off the shelve something else floated across her mind. Someone was talking about her on the other side of the shelf.
This was nothing new and she tried to shut it out she was rather different from most of the students and quite a few seemed to see her as new gossip material. Someone to put down and treat differently someone to bully. Mai had gone through this before after her parents died so it was nothing new and she just tried to shut it out the best she could.
"Did you hear?Dat girl still thinks she can go back to her old life. Doesn't she know now dat she has supposed 'magic' she can never go back?" One girl says with a sneer. A guy laughs along with several others. "Yeah who does she think she is? I mean we all had to give up our mundane ties when we transferred here so she has to too. She ain't special at all and it ain't fair for her not to have to give it up."
Another girl could be heard saying that with much venom projected into words. Mai flinched as she heard it chanting to herself, "Shut it out, don't pay them any heed, ignore them, their just stupid they don't understand.", trying to will herself not to pay attention to their words. "I heard she just wants to go back because of a guy. I heard he's older and like way smart like a doctor or something, yo." A guy chimed in earning a laugh from one of his fellow guys.
"Ewww she is so like way out of her league then with a guy like dat. And I mean come on a older guy? Dat's just disgusting I mean who wants to chase after some twenty thirty something year old man? Hashtag Ewww. Besides if he's so smart and I bet handsome then he has to be married already. And chasing after a married man is just disgusting and so trashy." A third girl throws in.
"It gets even better girl, I heard this directly from one of her so called little friends. I heard dat the dude is her boss. She is chasing after some older married doctor guy who is her boss that is like way gross! Hashtag Panther Alert." The first girl chimes in with a high pitch laugh and a sneer as her other friend joined in on her laughter. "No you mean hashtag Gerbil Alert." The second girl corrects the first. "No I mean Panther duh. Honestly Brit you are so stupid at times GAWD!"
The girls started in scrabbling with each other their friends throwing their weight to one side or the other of the argument. Mai in the mean time had given up on trying to shut them out and just stood there shaking as she listened to them. "Stop it. Stop it please. Please just stop it already. Just shut up. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!" She turned with a sob running away from the book shelve and the spiteful group of students on the other side of it.
The book shelf that she had just left had started to shake. Just like in the report it shook but only the one shook and then their were the screams as books apparently went flying off the shelves. And through it all Mai was running away from it sobbing and shaking herself her heart torn to shreds by their words no matter how hard she tried to guard herself. Her feet left icy footprints where she stepped and their was a thin coat of ice and a few flakes of snow covering the books she held.
Naru pulled back with a gasp panting for breath as he fought to surface back to himself again. He tried to sit up but found he was to nauseous to do so and laid back down where he had apparently fallen. He sorted out what he had just witnessed. Mai had been there but she had left just before the incident took place. She had also been in no state to tell if a spirit was at work or not. She had been far to upset to notice. Again the same thought popped into his head but again it remained to far for him to see. It did feel closer this time but it was still too hazy for him to understand what exactly it was about other then he did know it had to do with Mai. Mai and those girls.
Shaking his head he sat up. Immediately he felt like he was going to be sick not a feeling he enjoyed experiencing but one he preferred to feeling Mai's pain the way he had. He didn't care to examine the way it made him feel knowing she was in pain or knowing that she had been thinking about him. He stubbornly set those thoughts aside and focused on what he had learned.
The group involved consisted of at least three girls and two guys one of the girls he had already met. He recognized her voice from earlier. A girl had just wondered into the base looking for him. She seemed surprised at first that he was so young but was then distracted by how good looking he was. She proceeded to twine herself around him purring stupid little things in his ear as she rubbed her large breasts against his arm which she clutched in a death grip with claw like nails digging into his skin through his sleeve. She had worn her plaid uniform skirt shorter then what was required and had her shirt unbuttoned quite a bit showing half her chest.
He frankly didn't care how pretty she was she had the brains of a flea and apparently only cared about her appearance and putting others down. Mai at least committed what she didn't know and learned about to memory and at the very least had some brains. She was also charming, funny, sweet, sympathetic, sensitive to others, and stubborn. Very stubborn and emotional. She took other peoples feelings into consideration before she did something a lot of times. She seemed to love with all her heart as well. Something he couldn't truly understand.
Naru sighed gathering together all the books and making his way towards the elevator but before he could reach it someone appeared out of nowhere behind him. He whirled to face them sensing them appear. It was one of the guys from Mai's group of friends the one she had leaned against while sitting in the common room in the dorms. Cameron. Before he could say a word another guy from the group appeared. This one was the dark colored one Bones and he appeared out of the darkness of the shadows that seemed to cling to different corners and areas of the library. A third guy appeared or rather he had been there all along but had somehow cloaked himself to not be seen until now.
Two older guys in their twenties appeared from around a corner and stood there arms crossed. Three younger boys two of which were the twins Moke and Kovu, Jen's brothers, the third boy looked slightly younger then them and unrelated to any of the others. "Finally do you know how hard it is to get you alone and for Mai not to know what we are up to?" The golden male twin who had been cloaking himself, Max asked him apparently exasperated. "I would apologize but I have the feeling I am not going to like what your going to do." He answers sarcastically; noticing that the other one called Terry was also there he had just been behind Cam up until now.
"You probably aren't going to like this and for that I apologize for but we need to have a talk." Terry says giving him a apologetic smile before Cameron made a grab for him. He dodged out of the way trying to stay out of reach of any of the others. "Two feet to the left and about a foot forward." Max says directing Cam who lunged again. Again Naru dodged getting a better look at Cam's eyes as he did. Cam apparently was blind. He didn't focus on anything despite Naru being just to the side of him.
They repeated this dance a few more times before Bones gave a frustrated huff and strode over cornering Naru between Cam, Terry, Max, and himself with the others surrounding them. He lifted a sword that had appeared in his hand and held it over his head. Naru was for once truly afraid now. This situation had suddenly escalated far out of his control he couldn't do anything without putting his life in danger if he used his PK. Bones brought the sword down over Naru's head and everything went black as pain radiated through his skull.